Princeton’s future bright after historic women’s season

Princeton head coach Courtney Banghart walks near the bench in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Maryland in the second round of the NCAA tournament, Monday, March 23, 2015, in College Park, Md. Maryland won 85-70. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) Princeton head coach Courtney Banghart walks near the bench in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Maryland in the second round of the NCAA tournament, Monday, March 23, 2015, in College Park, Md. Maryland won 85-70. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

By Associated Press March 25, 2015 3 min read

Princeton coach Courtney Banghart was back in her office a day after her Tigers’ perfect season came to an end.

There were phone calls to return, texts to answers and thank you letters to write.

“It was something wasn’t it,” Banghart said in a phone interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday. “This really was a special group and nothing can take away from what they accomplished this season.”

Princeton’s remarkable run, which ended on Monday night in an 85-70 loss to No. 1 seed Maryland, drew national attention. It’s not every day that the President of the United States attends a game, but Barack Obama was there on Saturday cheering on his niece who is a freshman on the team. Obama saw a historic game as the eighth-seeded Tigers earned their first NCAA Tournament victory, beating Wisconsin-Green Bay in the opening round.

The cheerer-in-chief wasn’t the only high-profile fan of the Tigers this season. First lady Michelle Obama took in an early season win over American. Former Senator Bill Bradley, who led the Princeton men’s team to its only Final Four fifty years ago, addressed the team after a win in February.